An Introduction to Maintaining a Practice Log and Recording Practice

You're probably thinking to yourself, "Me? Keep a diary? Never!"

The simple truth of this statement had kept me from even considering using a Practice Log in the past. I really didn't think of myself as a diary kind of person. As I have just recently reached my 34^th birthday and been keeping a Practice Log for the past five months, my opinions of "diaries" have obviously changed. Referring to my daily written thoughts as a Practice Log has also helped me to overcome the "diary" word! This overview will give you some idea of what a Practice Log is and how it is used to allow you to reach your playing goals.

Certainly a written set of daily playing observations and recording of pertinent practice details can be kept in a number of different ways: on the computer, loose leaf binder, bound book of blank pages, etc. This is a personal decision and shouldn't affect the actual process of using this concept. I have chosen to use a small bound book of blank pages for my Practice Log book. These can be purchased in most bookstores. Since I will be keeping this written log forever [for future review and amusement], I personally believe that seeing these notes in my own hand writing gives me a very strong feeling of ownership. I recently got a mechanical pencil to avoid the problem of having to sharpen my pencil in the middle of notating my thoughts. You have to make it as easy as possible to capture your thoughts, and if you have to find a pencil sharpener or another sharp pencil late at night after a practice session, you might be discouraged to put your comments in your book. The mechanical pencil has helped me to overcome that occasional frustration. The bottom line is to choose the best method that will work for you, and stick to it.

The Practice Log has two distinct components. 1) Recording practice details and 2) Formulating ideas and questions to overcome plateaus limiting your advancement on the instrument. After 5 months of keeping a practice log, I am ready to separate these two aspects of the log in order to more easily record the data concerning practice details, which will allow me to focus on just concepts and ideas in the actual log book. This "Recording of Practice Details" will most likely take on the form of a Practice Sheet where I will record the details of my practice day.

The Practice Sheet will include the exercises that I play (Author, Page Number, Exercise Number, etc.) along with the metronome markings for the day. It might also include additional comments about how I play a particular exercise. For instance, I might choose to play H. L. Clarke Technical Studies No. 2 using slur, single tongue, k tongue, or multiple tongue. Or possibly slur/tongue combinations (i.e. slur two/tongue two, tongue one/slur three, etc.). A sample of a practice sheet is shown for use with the Eddie Lewis Daily Routine book. This can be modified to fit your needs. The important item to consider is that you want a snapshot of the previous week, so you can assure you are making incremental improvement in your playing, or assuring that you are not becoming stagnant in your playing by repeating the same material over and over.

The Practice Log is an opportunity for you to formulate ideas and think critically about your playing. By writing these ideas in your Practice Log after every practice session, you are assuring that your practice has a specific direction and focus. You are able to be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses. By identifying what you are doing well as well as what needs improvement, you can design your practice days more effectively. If you find you are having the same problems day after day, this will allow you to see a pattern and seek an answer to resolve the problem.

As an example, the following two phrases were written in my Daily Practice Log in July and August (Case 1 - "notes seem to fuzz out" and Case 2 - "it's hard to multiple tongue above the staff").

By identifying that I had a response problem, I began to do some research on this topic. Using the Trumpet Players International Network (TPIN) Internet resource, I discovered that my embouchure was based on a more open set. Using a closed set, and focusing on this with each attack that I made for the last two months, I have greatly improved my ability to have all of my notes speak more clearly at a very soft dynamic level and at the bottom register of the instrument. I have also been introduced to a technique called Whisper Tones, which David Hickman and Chase Sanborn advocate in improving response.

Given discussions on TPIN about using the H.L. Clarke Technical Studies book as prescribed by Claude Gordon, I noticed that Claude's students mentioned "K" tonguing these exercises, in addition to single tonguing and multiple tonguing. With my limited daily practice, I knew that I would not be able to add K tonguing a complete set of the Clarke studies. I opted to try K tonguing some of the studies in the Eddie Lewis Daily Practice Routines, which I use regularly. I was shocked that I was not able to K tongue large intervals. This was something that I had never tried, and based on questioning my ability to multiple tongue easily above the staff, I decided to try some experimentation with one of the elements of multiple tonguing, that being focused K tonguing. By identifying this weakness, I have incorporated some K tonguing into my daily routine, with marked improvements in just several weeks. This approach of critical thinking allowed me to form my ideas in my Practice Log and throw out those things that didn't make sense for me (i.e. try to play a complete series of the Clarke studies using K tongue at the end of my practice day). I was able to arrive at a very tangible compromise (K tongue some of the articulation studies that I play everyday).

If you are a serious student of the instrument, this tool is for you. If you are interested in becoming more proficient on your instrument, this tool is for you. If you have reached a plateau in your current technical abilities, this tool is for you.

The Practice Log is currently in use at the Manhattan School of Music. Byron Stripling requires each of his students to maintain a Practice Log. Many professional level players that I have talked with have used a Practice Log sometime during their careers. While I have not taken an official survey, I can assure you that very few Amateur or Semi-Professional players spend the required mental energy to maintain a Practice Log (this is based on the fact that no one on the TPIN list responded to this topic when it was presented). One professional player wrote to me sometime after the original message was released, and after a series of correspondence, I discovered that he also maintained a detailed Practice Log.

You must determine your own playing goals and ask yourself if the Practice Log is for you. It is a time commitment that will allow you to make significant improvements very quickly if you adopt this tool into your regular practice routine.

3.1 The Practice Sheet

The Practice Sheet is probably best kept by your music stand. A well-conceived practice sheet will allow you to jot down brief comments about each exercise after you have played it. If you have it close at hand you can make comments (i.e. metronome markings) while you are resting between exercises. If you keep it close to your stand, you can also review your progress from past days and weeks on the exercises that you are currently working on.

The Practice Log is best kept with you (depending on where you practice). Since you are going to honestly evaluate your strengths and weaknesses in this log, this activity would best be done in a quiet environment by yourself. I typically do my practicing late at night, so I just sit in the living room after my session to notate my thoughts. The important thing to consider is capturing the ideas right after you practice so they are fresh in your mind. If you write down your concerns immediately, you are more apt to remember them, and consequently get answers for them.

When you are investigating questions that you have posed after your practice sessions, spend some time noting the sources that you are reading or the people that you are talking with to get your answers. Ask yourself how these answers might be incorporated into your current playing to solve your playing concerns.

The question of why to use a Practice Log can certainly have long list of responses. I will let you determine some of those for yourself. I will give you a very strong example for why I personally use the Practice Log.

Excerpt from a message I sent to TPIN entitled Achieving Excellence:

"The single most difficult part of daily practice for me is the ability to become mentally focused at the end of the day. Since the Daily Practice Log is a written record that I plan on keeping forever, I am forced to "explain" myself when I find myself too tired to practice. Since I have rededicated my practice efforts in the hopes of someday pursuing a performance degree, I have placed a much greater importance on my daily practice. Knowing that I must physically write in my book, "Too tired to practice tonight" has allowed me to weigh that phrase against other "choices" that I make with my time. After I put my boys to bed at night, I might be tempted to turn on the TV to relax for a while. When I think about the phrase "Too tired to practice tonight" and weigh that against my performance degree goal, an episode of Law and Order on television becomes infinitely less important. I also think about Chase Sanborn while he was going through his ordeal with Bells Palsy, and know that more than anything, he wanted to be able to practice. Since I have no "physical" excuse, I have used my Daily Practice log to refocus myself when I start to stray from my goal".
I'm certain that this reason for using the Practice Log (although not it's main purpose), has motivated me and allowed me to move closer to my playing goals. For this reason alone, I would recommend this very powerful tool to everyone who is trying to achieve a difficult goal!